


Hot Blondes Wanted

by 2spooky



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Pining Catra (She-Ra)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2020-03-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:08:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23202970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/2spooky/pseuds/2spooky
Summary: NYC  Supermodel!AU: Catra is still grungy and sad though
Relationships: Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 53





	1. Chapter 1

I hated taking out the trash after a bachelorette party. The little plastic umbrellas were always breaking through the trash bag and poking me in the thighs. Even worse was the sickly-sweet smell of multiple bridesmaid’s perfumes that mingled together and lingered in the bar for days afterwards. It was a particularly chilly night after one of the biggest bachelorette party’s we had thrown in the bar and I took three giant bags outside. The dumpster in the alley behind the bar was always a gamble, and I quickly threw the bag in, scurrying away in case I had disturbed any rat nests.

I looked around the bar one last time, making sure I hadn’t missed any stray glasses or lost IDs. Everything seemed to be in its place. The bar was small and pretty dive-y, with a classic well-worn pool table and plenty of couches. Most people not from the area came before hitting more well-known bars since our drink specials were so cheap. Neighborhood locals would be here until closing. After a quick survey of the dimly lit place, I nodded over to Rogelio, who had just put on his dishwashing gloves, and left. He was pretty good about doing all the washing and mopping himself; for this he quickly became my favorite person to close with. He let me mostly focus on making the drinks during the night, which for a young bartender in the city was pretty rare. It was the first job I’ve had where I wasn’t up to my knees in strangers’ vomit, or worse.

I took out my phone and turned it on and instantly got twenty notifications from Scorpia, my roommate. She loved to ask me things she could very easily Google. That and send me pictures of our cat. She was a cute and upbeat girl, and sometimes I swore it would just be easier if we just dated. Although after seeing a girl clip her toenails on your couch and flick them off, cute could only go so far.

I could’ve technically taken the subway, but I loved this time of the day. It was early enough that even the sun was still down, and only stray cats would occasionally wander around looking for breakfast. I couldn’t make myself listen to the grinding gears and screeching noises of the train at this hour. I shuffled whatever playlist I could find and started making the trek home.

A few street lamps lit my path. The soft lights made me sleepy. It had gotten a lot chillier than when I was throwing out the trash earlier and my puffer jacket felt like it was keeping the cold in rather than buffering it out. I was halfway home when I saw bright lights in the distance, too bright to be street lights. As I kept walking toward it, almost like a moth to a flame, I realized that I had walked directly into a photoshoot set. This wasn’t uncommon, what with living in an up and coming neighborhood in Brooklyn and all, but, damn, if it wasn’t totally inconvenient.

I tried to push my way through freezing teen girls in tiny skirts, but it was impossible. I was surprised they were even up at this hour. I could’ve walked back and around the other block, but my stubborn nature wouldn’t let me, having just a couple more blocks to get home.

I was just trying to get across when the flash from a camera caught my eye, and that’s when I saw her. With all the lights were positioned on her she seemed to be glowing. She was an amazon, with long limbs, long blonde hair and big doe eyes. Catching a glimpse of her was a mistake, in more ways than one.

“Excuse me!” A small girl with bright pink hair said, suddenly in front of me.

I noticed she was holding large expensive looking camera.

“You are way too close to the set, please step back.” she said in an annoyed tone.

I swore that the blonde girl glanced at me for a second. There was something about her that make the little hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

“I’m trying to get home, can’t I just cross?” I managed to say and pointed across the street, trying to make my plea.

The girl threw her hands in the air wildly, cutting me off.

“No one goes past the set, you’ll have to go around.”

This really pissed me off.

“Yeah?” I said mocking her high-pitched tone.

She was one of those overly cutesy-looking girls that I just couldn’t stand. Especially when I could’ve sworn we were the same age. I think there was even glitter in her hair.

As she was getting ready to huff at me some more, I pretended to make a pass at her camera. As she shrieked and pulled away, I darted past her and right into the set. Needless to say, I caused a scene.

“Help!! HELP! SECURITY!” She yelled after me, trying to chase me. But I had a good foot of height over her and her little legs couldn’t keep up with my lanky ones.

I darted past makeup artists and tables of food, trying to make sure I didn’t accidentally make it into any shots. While this pink haired girl made it seem like I was stealing the declaration of independence, the other photographers couldn’t give a damn about me. Their cameras flashing, they focused on working through the commotion.

I had gotten so worked up about avoiding the small pink haired girl that I had completely forgotten about the 8-foot goddess that was also on the set. She too was still working, posing every time the lights flashed. Trying not to get caught by the giant bulky man that was now also following me, I dashed behind her cameraman and flashed her my best smile. I don’t know why, maybe because I was already making everything about me.

Whether she saw me or not I may never know, because as I was making an ass of myself, I ran into said giant, bulky security man.

“Are you aware we could have you arrested right now Ma’am?” He said as he placed a firm grip on my arm, which I was not having.

“For what, trying to get home?” I said, ripping my arm out of his vice grip.

Immediately he tried to restrain me again, but I ducked under his arm. I was ready this time and I sure as hell wasn’t getting arrested.

“You are trespassing!!” The pink haired girl said breathlessly, finally catching up to us.

I tried to escape them both but was slowly being backed into a corner. I was getting anxious. Too nervous to open my stupid mouth again I grabbed ahold of the nearest thing I could, in this case a light stand, and forcefully threw it on the ground. Shrieks emerged from the pink haired girl and I booked it across the street. I didn’t look back.


	2. Chapter 2

_I’m such an idiot!_ Nearly escaping a _slight_ felony, I ran all the way back to my apartment.

I was completely out of breath when I swung the door open, forgetting it was only 5 am. Fortunately, Scorpia slept like a rock. I did scare the hell out of my cat though. Finally realizing that no one was following me, I kicked off my shoes at the door and dragged myself to my room. I took off all my layers, piled them on my desk chair, and plopped into bed. I desperately wanted to put this day behind me.

I must have dozed off sometime between thinking about getting up to brush my teeth and trying to find out what that model’s name was because I woke up with a toothbrush in one hand and my phone in the other. I realized that I was holding Scorpia’s toothbrush and hoped to God that I hadn’t actually put it in my mouth. I also wasn’t very successful in my search to find the name of my mystery model. All I had Googled last night was “tall blonde hot girl”. The results were completely useless. I chucked my phone across the bed and took the toothbrush to the bathroom.

We had a relatively small apartment with clashing décor. Scorpia had her plants, her pet scorpion, and her framed Nat Geo magazines while I had taped up posters of female rock stars and taxidermized bats in resin. If we hadn’t been assigned roommates in college, I doubt we would have even become friends. Of course, that was before I dropped out.

In the bathroom, to my horror I saw my own toothbrush with the bristles damp from recent use. I placed Scorpia’s toothbrush in the plastic cup and tossed mine into the trash with disgust. The girl was too much.

I grabbed a granola bar from the kitchen and scooped out some dry cat food for Shadow, our cat. I never knew how much he actually got fed since his food bowl was perpetually empty. He chirped happily around my feet and began crunching on his kibble, his black little tail swishing.

Back in my room, I was thankful to have the night off. I was just now remembering the incident from last night. I groaned loudly; why did I always have to be so impulsive? My phone buzzed as I was whining into my pillow, it was Entrapta. I had met her a while back in bartending school. She was a great bartender but a lousy texter.

“NEW GIG. HOTEL. U IN?” I resisted groaning some more.

“TONITE?” I replied, copying her texting style. I loved to mess with her, but I never knew if she knew I was being sarcastic. My phone buzzed almost instantly.

“DUH” she replied. Cute.

I sighed. I _did_ need the money and I didn’t have any plans later anyways.

“Count me in” I texted before I could talk myself out of it.

I figured I would get the rest of the details later and decided to take a shower. I desperately needed it.

* * *

“And so, I basically narrowly escaped getting arrested last night.” I said, wiping the bar glasses.

We were set up in a small bar booth in the middle of a huge event room in the Onyx Hotel as one of many booths all throughout the place. I guess it was a launch party of some kind. For what, I didn’t know. Between the large tables of gift bags and the floral centerpieces it looked like a wedding to me. Entrapta, who had been hanging on to my every word, exclaimed, “Again?!”

Playfully, I flicked water at her. Her long, thick hair was pulled into pigtails. I doubt she even felt the droplets.

“Okay, that time didn’t count! It was for a protest!” I objected.

She laughed and poured out two shots of Don Julio into tiny plastic shot glasses.

“Here! Before the event planner comes back!” She shoved one of the plastic cups into my hand. I shamelessly took the shot and then another. I would definitely need it if the people attending this party were anything like their event planner.

As if on cue, the snippy woman entered the middle of the room. She eyed us suspiciously, probably because we were fighting back a fit of laughter. We did, after all, manage to stick a little plastic umbrella in her hair when she was inspecting our booth and to our amusement, it was still there.

“Well, we will start opening the doors in 5 minutes, and I trust you all will be accommodating and… professional.” She sneered, looking right at me and Entrapta.

We could hardly suppress our laughter at this point, but luckily the music started.

It was a loud and droning beat, and, right on schedule, people began to pile into the room. I really didn’t know what they could be launching that attracted such an array of people. Tall, skinny models with barely-there clothes were mingling with men that all looked like lanky Bill Gates. Old, frail women with giant rings shared a laugh with muscular young men. The line for the open bar Entrapta and I were running quickly became the longest of all the booths. I was so busy making martinis I almost didn’t notice a familiar high-pitched voice.

“--and our whole shoot was ruined! Can you believe how crazy the people here are?”

I could feel my stomach drop. I looked around for the source, and the pink hair stood out instantly. She was a booth away.

I ducked down immediately, holding onto Entrapta legs.

“That’s her!” I hissed, my heart thumping in my ears.

“Who?” Entrapta said obliviously, still in the middle of shaking a drink.

Her legs shuffled, trying to grab a bottle at the end of the bar.

“The pink-haired menace who wants me arrested!” I said.

Her gasp turned into a small yelp as I pinched her.

“Shhhh! Keep your voice down!”

I carefully grabbed the edge of the bar and peaked over. Thankfully she hadn’t seen or heard us. The attendees at our bar however were definitely eyeing me.

“You’re being kind of paranoid.” Entrapta laughed nervously. “She might not even remember what you look like.” She crouched down next to me. “You still have your 30 minute break, why don’t you go now?”

I gave her a look. She was kicking me out.

“Yeah, okay.” I huffed.

I stood back up, gave our line a formal bow, and slinked away. I knew I was being kind of paranoid, but if that little nuisance was here… did that mean the gorgeous girl was too? Because every employee was wearing the same uniform, I was able to walk into the kitchen and pretend to be a server. Needless to say, when I hastily devoured a plateful of mini shrimp toasts, they didn’t believe me when I went back for seconds.

The other booths were interesting, if not completely confusing. There was one booth dedicated to touching up makeup, one that was giving away free shampoo samples, but then there was also a car.

A very luxurious looking one at that, and right in the middle of the event space. It didn’t seem to be getting much attention, for some reason. It seemed I was the only one wondering how they got a car inside the hotel. There was also a photobooth which also being ignored, with big ,kitschy props and a huge glittery background. I had to do it. The woman running it didn’t seem to mind that I was also working. I think she was just happy someone was doing it. I wrapped a giant feather boa around me and gave the camera my best pout. I was blinded by the flash when I heard a gasp.

“You!”

I rubbed my eyes and saw the pink haired girl on the other side of the camera, her mouth agape and her finger pointed right at me. Oh, God.

She quickly took the picture that had just printed and waved it at me

“Now that I’ve got your picture, you’ll pay for what you did!” She stormed off and left me there, too stunned to move.

“I can print out another for you if you’d like?” Said the woman running the booth, not sure of what had just happened.

I snapped out of it and draped the boa on her shoulders.

“Thanks.” I said absentmindedly and ran after Pinky.

She hadn’t gotten too far, her pink hair easy to spot in a crowd. My stomach did a flip when I noticed who she was standing next to and what she was holding. My stupid picture was in the hands of the most beautiful girl in the whole world. 

My feet felt like they were made of out lead them as I approached them.

“There she is, the trespasser.” Pinky had her arms crossed, her high voice tinged with venom.

“You know we can charge you, and Adora would testify.” She added, nodding to Adora, who was eyeing my picture.

Adora - even her name was beautiful. I tried to say something, but Adora looked at me and my voice caught in my throat. She was so much taller up close, and her long blonde hair was pulled back. She was wearing a deep wine-colored velvet dress with a revealing slit, and her neck was adorned with diamonds.

“I think you’re exaggerating a bit, Glimmer,” Adora said. it was the first time I had heard her speak. Her voice was soft with a slight twang to it.

“ _Glimmer_? Of Bright Moon?” An older woman with white hair and giant glasses called over “Oh, hello darling, how are you?”

She hugged the seething Glimmer with one hand and called over to posse with the other. Glimmer was soon surrounded by inquisitive people and she was forced to be her cheery self again. She gave me a scathing stare as Adora tapped me on the shoulder.

“Do you want to get out of here?” She whispered, taking my hand and leading me through the crowd. I felt like I was floating. Crowds parted for us and people’s eyes followed her when she walked by. And she was holding my hand.

“Can you hold on a second?” I said, breaking out of her trance. She looked at me with a questioning eye and nodded. I quickly ran back to Entrapta who was singlehandedly pouring drinks like a machine.

“You are never going to believe what just happened.” I blurted before she had a chance to speak. “Please don’t hate me but I need to leave right now.”

She was caught completely by surprise. I couldn’t tell if she was mad or not, and for a second, I thought she might tell me off. But she just smiled and said, “Okay, but I’m keeping your tips.”


	3. Chapter 3

Adora was waiting for me by the entrance, a small group of people around her were excitedly taking selfies. Her big blue eyes perked up when she saw me which made my heart beat faster. She smiled and excused herself and met me outside. I was still dressed in the black pants and white button-down uniform of the wait staff. We looked like we were going to prom. 

“Where are we going?” I asked tentatively, not believing I was even in her presence.

She had taken her phone out, opening up Uber.

“I’ve never been to New York before, and it’s been work, work, work since I got here.” She sighed “Glimmer hardly lets me out of her sight, so I was hoping you could show me around. Ooh! Let’s go to Times Square!”

Cringing at the thought of having to walk around Times Square at this hour and being bombarded by people in smelly character costumes, I just said, “Why me?”

She grinned, showing a small gap between her two front teeth.

“I figured you can sneak me in anywhere, Miss Trespasser.”

The Uber ride was silent. The only thing I could hear was my heart still racing. I tried not to look at her too much, but it was useless. I kept noticing the little things, like how her head hit the top of the car and her knees pressed close to her chest. How she was biting her lip while frantically typing on her phone, and how the layers of her luxurious dress created a barricade between us. Even though she was right next to me, she still felt unreachable. Finally, she stuffed her phone in her purse, the sudden movement startling me. She rested her elbows on her knees, turned to me, and smiled "So! Does Miss Trespasser have a name?" 

I tried to speak normally like I hadn't been intently staring at her for the past ten minutes.

"Ca-" I said, being interrupted by buzzes coming from her purse "-tra." 

"Oh my god, I’m so sorry, hold on." She took out her phone, looked through her messages, and turned it off. She turned off her phone, for _me._

"Glimmer is freaking out." She complained, pouting her lips.

Glimmer - somehow, I already hated her.

"Why? Who is she?" I said, trying not to sound too nosy.

"Glimmer is... my manager.” She sighed.

I must have had a sour look on my face because she quickly added, “She’s not that bad! It’s just that—”

Her explanation was cut short when our Uber turned the corner. The bright lights of Times Square bounced all around us, and the sounds of the streets seeped through the windows. Adora pressed her hands to the glass, her eyes sparkling.

“Is here okay?” Our Uber driver asked, breaking the silence.

“Yes!” Adora squeaked. She burst the door open and I gave the Uber driver an apologetic look.

“Tourist.” 

Sirens blared as we stepped out. Her hands shot up to her ears, but her mouth was agape in awe. Crowds of people walked around her, as if she was just another pipe or scaffolding in the way. Meanwhile they bumped into me, cursing. She still had her hands to her ears when I pulled her out to a small plaza right in front of a huge H&M. Big mistake.

People recognized her immediately. Men did double-takes while teenage girls squealed as they ran up to her. Soon there was a crowd around us, and my average stature couldn’t keep people away. Regardless, she remained friendly. She took selfies and hugged children; I felt like I was in Disney World. Even the costumed characters, who usually hated being upstaged, came up to her and asked for a picture.

“Miss Trespasser?” she whispered to me, the hairs on my arms standing.

“Catra, is fine” I said, taking another couples camera and pointing it for another picture. In this whole chaos I had become the photographer.

“Catra, can you please get me out of here?” She said through gritted teeth, her smile as bright as ever. 

I fought back a laugh. There was no way we were going to break through by ourselves. We needed to find a distraction, and I just had one crazy enough to work.

“Hey look! Its Rihanna!” I shouted, pointing away from us.

Everyone turned to look, including Adora, and some girls even gasped. I grabbed Adora’s hand, sending butterflies straight to my stomach, and ran. Some people caught on to my plan, but once Adora started running, she was _fast._ Even I barely kept up with her. I decided to duck into a souvenir shop for part two of my plan.

“Stand here.” I told her, pointing her towards a display of Statue of Liberties.

She did as she was told and stood perfectly still. Meanwhile, I grabbed the essentials. A baseball cap – Yankees, of course - a pair of sunglasses, and a tacky New York City t-shirt. I quickly paid for it and went back to find Adora in the same spot, her eyes closed. Her arms were perfectly still, and I almost thought she could have passed as a mannequin. I tapped her shoulder softly.

“Ready?” I asked, holding my spoils up to her.

The corners of her mouth perked up. She easily fit the T-shirt over her dress, tying the ends into a knot. She let down her hair from her ponytail, the stiff kinks completely unnoticeable under the hat. Somehow, she still looked good. With the sunglasses on, she wasn’t recognizable anymore. Even though you could still easily tell she was a model, no one would be bothering us.

“So, can we go to M&M World now?” She asked.

I should have bought some aspirin.

After the chaos that was M&Ms, we continued our chocolate high at Hershey’s World. Every little thing amazed her, and she amazed me. Nothing seemed to bother her. Not the mass of people, not the trash on the streets or the smells of putrid sewage mixing with the savory halal trucks. She was just happy. We ate our chocolate haul on the red steps in the middle of the Times Square plaza. Occasionally the giant LED screens would flash her face in a perfume ad. She watched it excitedly.

“How did you get here? Modeling, I mean?” I gestured towards the perfume ad.

“I was on a fishing trip with my family and I got scouted,” She replied. “I didn’t think I’d ever get here.” She gestured towards the crowded square below. “It was my first fashion week and I was even first up in three shows! It’s been a truly incredible experience. I think that’s why Glimmer is so protective of me, she doesn’t want me to focus on anything that isn’t work related.” Adora placed her hand on mine. “I’ve been here all week, and what I wanted most was just to do this, so thanks.”

All the noise of Times Square stopped, and it was just the two of us on those red steps. In that moment I wanted to kiss her, but I was afraid of breaking the moment we shared.

“Let me take you somewhere else.” I said, taking her hand and leading her down the steps. “But this time, let’s take the subway.”

We held hands all the way to the station. Adora headed towards the ticket machine, but I pulled her back, grinning mischievously. Her eyes widened. With ease, I jumped the turnstile.

“Catra wait! No, I can’t!” She cried out.

“Just jump!” I insisted, reaching my hand out to her.

She took it and, with the grace of a newborn giraffe, she jumped over, the folds of her dress getting caught on the bars.

“Hey!” Two cops shouted at us, approaching from the end of the platform. I tried to run but Adora held me back.

“Catra!” She whined, her eyes darting between the cops and the dress. Finally, she pulled forcefully and, with a loud rip, finally broke free. We darted from the cops and sprinted down the steps to a downtown train.

“It’s here!” I panted, trying to avoid falling. We were two steps away from the train when it chimed, the doors closing right before us.

“No!” We both yelled, the cops close behind us.

For a split second I thought about telling her to run ahead, but the doors chimed again, opening just enough for me to stick my foot in. I pried the doors open and she jumped in, pulling me with her. I prayed that the doors wouldn’t open again as the cops huffed and glared at us through the glass. Thankfully the train started moving.

Adora looked at what remained of her dress. The rip had cut across the front slit all the way to the back. It looked as if she was wearing a purposely distressed skirt, but I’m sure that wouldn’t make her feel better.

“Ralph made it for me,” she moped.

“Lauren?” I asked.

“Rucci.” She said, looking at the state of herself in the glass doors.

Her hair was frizzy, her sunglasses were askew, and her designer dress was horribly ruined. I thought she might cry, but instead she burst into laughter.

We took the subway to the next stop. She had owned her disheveled look and was confidently walking alongside me. It was late, and most stores in Herald Square were closed. However, the streets were as luminous as ever. It was a short and quiet walk to the Empire State Building, and she didn’t notice where we were until I had actually bought the tickets and gave them to her. Her eyes widened.

“To the top?!” She asked. I nodded.

“You have to let me pay you back...” She said quickly reaching into her purse.

“No! Its okay!” I refused “Really! It’s the least I could do, for your dress.”

She smiled at me and continued to rummage through her purse. She took out a small blue fish on a silver key ring with scales that shimmered and moved and placed it in my hand.

“At least take this? It’s from the fishing trip. I want you to have it.”

I felt like my heart was going to burst from my chest. As we rode the elevator higher and higher, I didn’t want the night to end. When we finally got to the observation deck she ran to the very edge, her cap almost blowing off. The night sky was glowing, and we looked over the city in wonder. We didn’t talk for a while.

“Thank you for this, Catra.” She said finally.

I looked at her. She was still looking at the city lights, her expression unreadable with her shades.

“It’s nothing.” I said, trying not to feel so flustered.

“It’s not nothing! Really, thank you for treating me like a person and not a thing.” She blushed and hooked her fingers in the guard rail.

“This night has been so much fun, I’ll truly never forget it.” She said.

I reached out to hold her fingers but there was suddenly a rush of people walking towards us on the observation deck, and one of them had awfully pink hair.

“You kidnapped my model?!” Glimmer said bewildered.

I didn’t know where to go. Glimmer had brought big broad-shouldered men with her and they had us cornered. I looked over to Adora who was angrily struggling with one of them. The man grabbed her wrist so aggressively that she shrieked. I instinctively ran towards him, ready to throw a punch, but stopped when Adora gave me a stern look.

“Stop it! She didn’t kidnap me, Glimmer! For god sakes! She was just showing me around!” Adora kept me at a distance, not struggling with the man. I figured in my position, she wanted me to keep my hands to myself.

“So the girl that crashes our set is now just magically showing you around? Open your eyes, Adora! You could have been sold to her trafficking ring for all I knew!”

My blood was boiling. I wanted to scream. _Trafficking ring?!_ But looking at Adora, I kept my mouth shut.

“Please, just let it go. I don’t know how you found me, but I’ll go, and she won’t follow us. Just let her go, okay?” Adora pleaded.

I realized that she was pleading less with Glimmer and more to the giant men that had found their way behind me. I twitched. Glimmer looked me up and down and scoffed.

“You had your location on, Adora, are you sure you didn’t want to be found? Jesus, look at what you’re wearing.” She then looked at me. “I don’t know what kind of sick fantasy you’re playing at, but it ends now.”

She nodded to the guys and they led Adora towards the elevators. Adora looked at me one last time with a look I couldn’t decipher and mouthed the words “ _Good Bye_ ”.

She had been gone for minutes before Glimmer walked up to me. It was just her and I now.

“I swear to God, if you follow us, I _will_ have you arrested.” She spat.

I didn’t know what to say, but I scowled at her and stood my ground. She spun on her heel and stormed off, her radiant pink hair whipping around in the wind.

And just like that, I was alone.

I continued to stand there, dumbfounded. That I had escaped being incarcerated, _again_ , that I had spent the entire night with someone who’s stunning face adorned billboards in Times Square, and that I had stupidly fallen in love with her.

I stayed up in the observation deck until they had to kick me out. I took the elevator with a few employees, and to my luck, a couple of newlyweds who had been taking their wedding pictures. The bride’s dress was beautiful. Her bodice was full of sparkling crystals that matched her tiny tiara. When she caught me staring she smiled at me.

“This might be a weird question, but do you work at Dicky’s? In Williamsburg?” She asked.

“Uh, yeah actually.” I said, awkwardly trying to find the pocket my phone was in.

“Oh! I had my bachelorette party there a few days ago! I don’t know if you remember?” She laughed, her high trill filling the elevator space. “I know it’s probably weird to have it there, but that’s where we actually met.” She hooked her arm around her husband who shyly nodded at me.

“Yeah, it’s so cliché meeting at a bar... but anyways, I just wanted to say thanks! You inadvertently brought us together.” She rested her head on his shoulder.

It felt like a cruel joke. When the elevator finally let us out, their photographer, who had been fumbling with his camera the whole time, flew out first. The couple then thanked me again and left. They were practically skipping.

I walked the nearly empty halls of the Empire State building with its the high ceilings and glittering tiles. It’s glistening interior feeling like the end of my fairy tale. Outside the air was cold, but less so than on the observation deck. I finally looked at my phone for the first time since the evening started. Entrapta had called and texted the most, seconded by Scorpia. Entrapta had made “mad tips” the whole night and even scored a selfie with Tyra Banks. She left me a drunk voicemail telling me that I was the worst for leaving her, but the best for being her friend.  
I walked to the subway in silence, trying to find the perfect playlist to listen to. Not surprisingly, nothing really fit the mood.

The subway ride was long. I had totally forgotten the concept of night service and had to transfer on to several trains before I actually got to my stop.

The short walk to my apartment seemed familiar. It was around the time I would be closing with Rogelio. Unlike Manhattan, there were soft sounds here, crickets and things. The night sky was beautiful, a different kind of view than the glow at the top of the Empire State. All I could think about was Adora’s face as she looked over the tops of the buildings and then her face when she was escorted out. I kicked a can on the sidewalk angrily, making a bigger noise than I anticipated and scaring myself in the process. When I was finally home, Shadow chirped loudly at me. As I poured the kibble out into his bowl, he angrily headbutted my legs, showing affection even in spite.

He crunched loudly and I peeled my layers off. I caught my reflection and I couldn’t believe I had gone out with Adora like this the whole night. My hair was wild, with curly kinks escaping my hair tie. The modest makeup I had applied for a night of bartending was smudged and running under my eyes, and my clothes were beyond wrinkled and even dirty. I looked completely feral.

Not even a shower made me feel any better. I lathered the warm soapy suds over my skin, bumpy and brown. Just thinking about comparing myself to Adora made me sick. I didn’t want to look like her, and I didn’t resent my body or my ethnicity. Although something about being in her presence reminded me how ugly I was perceived in the world, even subconsciously by myself.

Wrapped in a towel, I decided to look her up, now having a heck of a lot more to go by than simply “hot blonde”. I found her Wikipedia page. She was from a small town in Texas when she got scouted, and since then had been adorning magazines and catwalks all around the globe. I was surprised I hadn’t recognized her.

I stayed awake for hours, even though my eyes prayed to be shut, just thinking about our night together. How she would smile at me, how she would hold my hand, and her last words. I didn’t even know if she even saw me how I saw her, if she had the same stomach flips when our finger touched. Sadly, a Google search of “Adora Model Gay” turned no results. I selfishly wanted to reach out to her, but instead I closed my eyes. I felt Shadow jump into the bed and curl by my feet. I felt my heartrate slow down and my limbs grow heavy. She was on my mind as I drifted off to sleep and has been ever since.


End file.
